Trading by Firelight

by C. M. Simpson

  Her face clouded

  “Although there hasn’t been one of the latter for some time.”

  She swept a hand to include the men in the room.

  “We are the off-shift, but there’s not usually this many of us when the caravans are moving.” She paused. “While your proposal is good, do you have any idea of how the town is run?”

  “It’s not a council?”

  “No. More like a conglomerate of traders. The founders each had different areas of interest and decided they were better served by having a central location for administration and trade. It helped that there was already a small community in place when they arrived and the founders thought it would make it easier for caravans and traders if they built their offices around the central square and allowed inns and waystations to grow up around them. My company was one of the first, but Gaebler holds primacy when our contracts compete.”

  She sat back, her gaze shifting from face to face. For a moment it seemed as if she was waiting for one of them to speak, but then she leaned forward.

  “You came from the surface, did you not?”

  “Yes.” Gustav’s reply was wary.

  “Do you have news of Aimery’s caravan? It left five days ago. You should have met it near Downslopes.”

  Gustav sighed, and his expression told her the news before he’d opened his mouth. Her face fell.

  “Tell me,” she said, anticipated sadness roughening her words.

  “We found the mules,” he told her. “They’d been dead at least a day, maybe two, but there was no sign of any human, dead or alive.”

  He glanced at Marsh and continued.

  “We think the raiders took them…like all those previous.”

  Valerie followed his gaze.

  “What has she got to do with them?”

  Marsh opened her mouth to refute the idea but Gustav held up his hand. Roeglin laid a hand on her knee, and she subsided. They had one chance to get it right.

  “Marsh is going to pursue the raiders. She will be the one responsible for bringing back those they’ve taken.”

  Valerie fixed Marsh with a stern stare.

  “When?”

  Well, at least that was an easy question to answer.

  “As soon as the caverns are secure.”

  Valerie froze, then sat straighter.

  “Then you need to understand how decisions are made in this town.”

  From outside came angry shouts, and the sound of people chanting.

  “Or at least how they were made.”

  “What do you mean were?” Gustav asked.

  Valerie gestured toward the closed windows.

  “I mean that the folks outside are about to simplify the governance at the same time as they complicate the Deeps out of it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s simple. Those people are going to lynch Monsieur Laberge because they think he’s responsible for the disappearance of the Iselins from their farm.”

  “Let me guess,” Marsh cut in. “No people and no bodies, but animals, items, and wealth all intact?”

  “Yes,” Valerie admitted. “How did you know?”

  Marsh pushed back her seat, her movement mirrored by Gustav and the rest of the team.

  “Because that’s how the raiders leave every property they empty,” Gustav told her, moving toward the door, Mordan by his side. “We have to stop this.”

  “But the merchant said he was sure he’d heard Laberge threaten them. That Laberge had spoken to soldiers…”

  “Merchant?” Marsh demanded, halting after starting to follow. “Kearick?”

  “I believe that was his name, yes. Said he’d come from Kerrenin’s Ledge to set up a store here…”

  “That Deep-spawned demon,” Marsh spat. “He was probably lying.”

  “Leclerc.”

  Gustav’s quiet voice reached her across the room, her name as good as a command. She turned and followed him, the other guards moving alongside her. Across the room, a door opened and Henri muttered a startled oath. Marsh glanced up in time to see him and Izmay hurrying to join them.

  “We’ll go with you,” Valerie said, and her tone left no room for argument. All around them, her men moved toward the door. “Aymeric. Show them the way.”

  The blond man who had met them stepped away from his post by the door and walked through it ahead of Gustav. Valerie joined them, walking a little behind Gerry and Zeb, who were bringing up the rear. They hurried into the street, and Aymeric broke into a jog.

  To their puzzlement, he led them away from the square and across two major cross streets before turning a corner.

  “This way,” he shouted, breaking into a run.

  16

  Crowd Control

  They were arrayed in front of Monsieur Laberge’s house by the time the mob arrived. Gustav and Valerie had knocked, then forced their way past the steward who came to answer the door, calling to the merchant as they’d hurried through the house. Gustav had left Marsh and Roeglin in charge, and Valerie’s second Aymeric stood alongside them, casting doubtful glances at the kat who had come to sit by his feet.

  Mordan rose to her feet as the mob rushed into the street in front of them, her movement causing those at the lead to slow their pace. Aymeric raised a hand, and the archers arrayed on either side of them raised their bows and drew their strings taut. Roeglin and Marsh drew their swords, aware of their fellow Protectors doing the same beside them.

  The crowd came to a halt, but the men leading it stepped forward.

  “We’ve come for Laberge.”

  “Wrong,” Aymeric told them.

  “He is guilty.”

  “Wrong,” Marsh added.

  “He’s killed the Iselins.”

  “Wrong,” Roeglin retorted.

  One of the leader’s stepped forward.

  “We don’t think so.”

  Marsh stepped forward to confront him, reaching for the voice she used to call time in training.

  “Shadow raiders took the Iselins. We will retrieve them.”

  The leader turned and looked out over the mob. When he turned back, there was mockery in his eyes.

  “You will retrieve them?” he asked, poking her in the center of the chest with his long narrow forefinger.

  Marsh returned the favor.

  “I will retrieve them.” She backed up a step so she could have a clearer view of the crowd as she continued, gesturing toward the house. “He is not guilty.”

  “How do you know?” roared someone in the crowd, and they surged forward.

  They stopped abruptly when Mordan roared, darting forward a couple of paces to swat at the air before them. Marsh shouted into the silence that followed.

  “We will investigate this man’s guilt or innocence, but murdering him will not catch those responsible.” She paused to let that message sink in and added, “Or stop them from striking again.”

  Mordan gave a long, low growl, finishing it with a screeching yowl—the hunting call of her kind. Several of those in the front rank backed away. The kat growled again, pacing in front of them before returning to Marsh.

  They are all prey.

  Marsh hoped that the kat meant all those in the front rank were townsfolk and not raiders and felt the push of confirmation.

  “Promise it,” the crowd’s leader challenged and Marsh raised her head, but Aymeric was ahead of her.

  “We so swear!” he shouted, and raised his hand.

  All around him, his men echoed his promise.

  “We so swear.”

  But the crowd wouldn’t let him off so easily.

  “You’re not unbiased.”

  He swept his hand to direct their attention to Marsh, Roeglin, and the others.

  “They are.”

  “And who are they?”

  Marsh resisted the urge to respond, letting Gustav step forward.

  “We are emissaries. I am here on behalf of the Founder of Ruin’s Deep to deliver an offe
r from Kerrenin’s Ledge.”

  He signaled for Marsh and Roeglin to join him.

  “And these are the emissaries for the Deeps Monastery.”

  A low murmur ran through the crowd, but Gustav quickly quelled it.

  “They are not here to recruit.”

  The crowd stilled. Gustav waited, looking out over them, and the crowd stared back. Finally, the crowd’s leader broke the silence.

  “What are they here for?”

  Gustav gestured to Roeglin.

  “We are here to show our support for the Four Caverns and to confirm our alliance to both Ruins Deep and Kerrenin’s Ledge. We are also here to offer the same alliance to the people of Dimanche.”

  “What if we don’t want your alliance?” someone shouted.

  “Yeah! Our kids stay here!”

  “You’re not taking anyone away!”

  Roeglin waited, and Gustav interrupted the growing discontent.

  “Have you had mages trying to convince you to give up your children?”

  Rumbled assent answered him.

  “Those mages were not from the Deeps.”

  Sounds of disbelief greeted him, but the crowd’s leader held up his hand.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that folk in both Ruins Deep and Kerrenin’s Ledge reported dark mages trying to recruit their children or to convince parents to send their children away to some kind of school.”

  Surprise murmurs replaced the disbelief. Gustav waited until they died down.

  “Those mages did not come from the Deeps Monastery.”

  Cries of “How do you know?,” “How can you be sure?,” and “Of course they’d say that” met his answer, but Gustav let the argument die down.

  “We checked, and the monastery was able to account for its people. There were also no new recruits when we visited, and no signs of any.”

  He stopped and looked at Roeglin, who took the cue.

  “We were planning a recruitment drive,” he began, and waited for the crowd to settle before continuing, “but at the founder’s request and in agreement with the Kerrenin’s Ledge Council, there will not be one.”

  The faces before them mirrored surprise.

  “But why not?”

  Roeglin surveyed them, his face showing surprise and curiosity.

  “We know of the other mages,” he said. “We are not them, but you have no way of telling the difference between us.”

  While that was not entirely true, Marsh knew it was safer for the crowd to believe that. She stayed silent as Roeglin continued.

  “As such, until this cavern has its own group of defenders to accompany us, we will not be recruiting here.”

  “Defenders?” someone called out.

  Someone else laughed.

  “Good luck with that,” came the call from another.

  “Yeah, not a hope any of the Five will agree to that.”

  “I’ll put up a fifth of the funds for them.”

  Marsh heard a door close in the house behind her, and then boots echoed over stone before crunching on the gravel path leading down from the porch. The crowd’s leader looked past her as she, Roeglin, and Gustav half-turned to see who had arrived.

  “You?” the crowd’s leader clearly didn’t believe the claim.

  The new arrival stopped when he reached Gustav.

  “I am Monsieur Laberge. My consortium produces shroom paper and leather, which is why people believed I might harm the Iselins.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t?”

  “I am.”

  This was met with open disbelief and mutters, and Gustav held up his hand.

  “We will investigate.”

  “Not if he’s paying you a fifth of your startup, you won’t…”

  And Gustav turned.

  “He’s not paying me. I’m only seeking an alliance for Ruins Hall and Kerrenin’s Ledge. They have their own Protectors.”

  “Protectors? I thought you said we needed defenders?”

  Gustav shrugged.

  “You can call them what you like. Ruins Hall calls their defenders Protectors, as does Kerrenin’s Ledge. Each cavern controls its own defensive force.”

  “Why can’t there be just one?”

  “Because we don’t have time to set up one. We want to do that once our caverns are secure. Until then, each cavern is responsible for its own defense and the defense of the trade routes. We’ll provide consultants to assist with set up and training, but only if asked. Beyond that, it’s up to you.”

  The crowd’s leader looked at the people on either side of him. It was almost as if he was looking for a direction to take them in next, but they seemed just as lost as he was. Around him, people stirred uneasily, some shrugging and others frowning. Finally, a stocky man with wild dark hair streaked with silver shouldered his way forward.

  “Hugh Travers,” he announced. “I’ll put up Shameless for an HQ if you’ll keep me on.”

  Monsieur Laberge looked worried.

  “But I’m not the one hiring. I will help with expenses, but it needs to be run independently of any of the Five.”

  “That’s why I’m putting Shameless up,” Hugh said. “It’s not aligned with any of the Five.”

  He caught Laberge’s eye.

  “No disrespect.”

  Laberge shrugged.

  “None taken, but you raise a good point. How are we going to build a force?”

  Valerie stepped forward.

  “We will,” she announced, and they were almost deafened by shouts of protest.

  Instead of trying to fight the tide of noise, she waited.

  “We will cancel all standing contracts by the end of the day and pay the penalty fees.”

  Around them, her men shifted to give her looks of surprise and astonishment. Valerie ignored them and turned to Laberge.

  “The Five know our terms for wages and upkeep, do they not?”

  Laberge nodded, his expression giving nothing away.

  “You’re expensive…” he muttered, and the crowd laughed.

  “But we know the cavern better than most, and we have the skills needed to defend it.”

  “Yeah, but not the numbers!”

  That call came from the crowd, and Valerie snapped a glance toward it.

  “We’ll be recruiting.”

  “When?”

  “First thing in the morning.”

  She turned to Hugh.

  “With your permission.”

  “If you want to be Dimanche’s defenders and these folks agree, you don’t need my permission.”

  Valerie smiled.

  “But we do,” she said, “since you’re going to be our recordkeeper and coordinate the feeding and housing of our people.”

  Hugh looked astonished, so Valerie kept going.

  “Or weren’t you serious when you said Shameless was available?”

  “I…I wasn’t going to kick you out…”

  “Uh huh? What were you going to do with us, given we take up half your rooms?”

  “I…uh…” Hugh stuttered to a halt. “Oh.”

  “Good. You’re our recruiting officer and recordkeeper, and you’ll be working with Quartermaster Owain.”

  “D-does he know?” Hugh’s eyes were wide.

  Valerie gave him a hard look and an even harder smile.

  “He will.”

  She turned to the crowd, sweeping a hand toward Hugh.

  “This man will be on the recruitment desk tomorrow. You know where to find him.”

  “Behind the bar?” one smart ass called, and Valerie surveyed the crowd, looking for them.

  Marsh saw when she found them.

  “No one gets to the bar until they pass rookies,” she said. “You think you’re good enough?”

  “I don’t know about Kels,” came a voice from one side of the crowd, “but we are. You need us to sign?”

  From the way Valerie’s people tensed and half-raised their weapons, the newcom
ers were both unexpected and a potential threat. Following the mercenary leader’s gaze, she saw the crowd ripple as people moved aside to let a wedge of soldiers pass through them. The man at its head had the build of a surface dweller and a well-defined face.

  The nearest members of the crowd looked apprehensive, and those nearest the edge of the road began moving quietly toward a side street. Marsh got the impression the man noticed and did not care.

  “Well, Val? What do you say?”

  “Don’t you have contracts?”

  He shrugged and looked back at his men.

  “You’re canceling yours. We’ll do the same. You need men. We want to help.”

  Valerie crossed her arms, her face taking on a hard expression as she studied him.

  “No, Luka.”

  His jaw dropped in disbelief, but Valerie hadn’t finished.

  “You don’t get to be recruits.”

  “But…”

  “You get to be equal partners. We’ll merge.”

  Marsh watched Luka’s mouth move as though he wanted to say something but the words escaped him. Valerie stared at him.

  “What do you say?”

  It took the man beside him giving him a shove for Luka to gather himself enough to speak.

  “I…” He glanced at the man at his side and back at Valerie. “I…accept. And thank you.”

  “We have a long fight ahead and a lot to organize. Will you come and stand with us?”

  The man known as Luka led his men forward.

  “Join them,” he ordered, and his troops dispersed themselves among the mercenaries facing the crowd while he went to stand beside Valerie.

  Marsh was close enough to hear what he said when he stooped to murmur in Valerie’s ear.

  “Thank you.”

  Valerie dipped her chin in acknowledgment and looked out at the crowd.

  “Are you satisfied?”

  The crowd continued to disperse, but its leaders came closer.

  “You’ll protect us?”

  “We will do our best.”

  “And the mages?”

  Valerie looked at Gustav, Roeglin, and Marsh.

  “They’ll stay to assist us until we can stand on our own.”

  Gustav opened his mouth as though he’d argue and closed it again.

  “We also need to meet with those authorized to make alliances.”